Painful Decisions
by Ryutsu and T.K. Incognito
Summary: In response to the lack of good HieiKag, two authors have gotten together to give the two a terrifying ride on the emotion rollercoaster. HieiKagKur InuYuYu xover
1. Well Ride

**Title: Painful Decisions  
**Author: Ryutsu and T.K. Incognito  
_Disclaimer: Ryukotsusei and Tsubasa Kya do not own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho characters, but for our own personal and rather sadistic enjoyment, we have chosen them to be the stars in this story just so we can place them in torturous situations and string them from their intestines from our ceiling fans, though we beg of you not to try that at home._

**A word from our authors: This is a joint project being worked on by Ryukotsusei and Tsubasa Kya. The links to our personal profiles are in our joint profile, and if they aren't, they'll probably be there soon.

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Chapter one: Well Ride

His breath came in short pants for him as he raced for where he knew she would be short moments from then. While she had been walking sedately along toward her destination, he used all the speed within his power to make it to where she wanted to be before she could get there. Why would he want to, one might ask?

Because he desired, no not just desired... he craved blood. He yearned for it so much that it had begun to mess with his head ever since realizing that she was not yet dead like he had assumed.

Of course, everyone knew that when one "assumes", they make an "ass" out of "u" and "me", but he didn't care. That was a past reaction. It had happened long ago now. This time... it was his time...

He would see her off indeed. A smirk graced his dark eyes as he opened the door to the well house and closed it behind him softly, hearing the nearly inaudible click as the latch swung back into place. Here was where he would lay his trap. Whether or not she liked being seen off... well, that wasn't entirely his problem, was it? Indeed not. She would have to deal with it all the same though.

**------**

Kagome stepped outside the doors that marked the entrance into the school and stopped for several long moments allowing the sun to warm her body. She was thankful that she managed to avoid her friends by taking refuge in the library until she was certain they were gone. The constant questions regarding her health had long begun to irritate her. Never mind the fact that they actually had a reason to ask this time, spending time in the Feudal Era in the middle of the rainy season had taken it's toll on her.

They could not afford to delay hunting shards regardless of the weather and because of that she had come down violently ill. The result had been that she returned home for close to two weeks to recover, spending the last day collecting the necessary school lessons she would need to complete while she was gone. Today was the day that she would return to Inuyasha's side and resume the hunt of the jewel shards.

No doubt the Inu-hanyou would be most displeased that she had taken the extra day but it was necessary. She couldn't afford to ask Hojou to bring her the school-work any longer though no doubt the boy would be more than happy to do it. No, the last time Hojou had come around he had placed an arm around her when she had turned pale.

Unfortunately Inuyasha's keen sense of smell had picked up the scent of him on her body and they had spent a couple of hours arguing about it. She couldn't understand why he was so jealous, not that she was interested in Hojou in that way. No, it was more annoying that Inuyasha acted as if he controlled every aspect of her personal life.

It would be one thing if he would admit that he cared for her, as more than a friend but he was unwilling to do even that. No, instead he drove away any male that attempted to show any interest towards her. It was as if he was trying to say that he didn't have any romantic feelings towards her but no one else was permitted to either.

She began making the trek home immersed deep within her thoughts. She still believed that all it would take was time for him to make his decision and she was willing to wait. It wasn't as if she was interested in anyone else anyway.

Besides, with her constant trips to the Feudal Era it wasn't like she had time to have a boyfriend at this point. Her absences would be impossible to explain to anyone. It was a headache she had no desire to have.

**--------**

Souta tried to come to a screeching halt. He really did! But he'd been running so fast that instead of actually halting like he had intended, he barreled right into his sister, knocking both him and her right into the street where cars were likely to drive if one was not careful.

He'd tried to catch up to her, and seemed to have succeeded at that, but of course bad luck was smiling upon both of the supposed siblings that day and an eighteen wheeler was coming there way. Sure, it wasn't going eighty-five miles an hour, but it would still do some lovely damage to their pretty little faces if it actually hit them.

With a groan, Souta grabbed his sister and rolled out of the way of the wheels with her, earning them both the privilege of seeing exactly what the bottom of a semi looks like while it is moving. Sure, Souta was younger than Kagome, but children did tend to grow up after a while and with Kagome always gone she hardly knew him anymore.

But the past couple weeks with her living back in the modern world, in her home and the era she was born in, Souta had made sure to show her just how much he had grown. Of course, this really beat all those stupid little 'look-how-much-older-I-seem' plays. Now it was him saving her rear instead of the other way around like it had been when the Noh mask came to get the Jewel shards from Kagome.

One would be accurate in saying that Souta had really taken it upon him to be just like "big brother Inuyasha". From lifting weights and learning karate all the way to getting top grades in school--which he just hoped that Inuyasha would have done in the past, though he wondered often what the school Inuyasha would have gone to looked like--and learning things like kendo, he certainly could take care of himself. At least the bullies now thought twice about taking his lunch money...even if they still took it anyway. Yes, he would have to work on that...

As soon as the eighteen wheeler had passed over them, he grabbed his sister's arm and drug her out of the street, intent on playing it off as entirely her fault even if he was the one who ran into her. "Geez, Kagome, can't even stay outta the road anymore?" he scoffed. Even his attitude had taken a liking to Inuyasha's, which actually might not have been such a good thing.

Kagome stiffened with indignation and yanked her arm out of his grasp. Souta took a step back as he glimpsed the look on her face, she always said his mouth would be his undoing and this time it seemed as if that would be true. When it seemed that all hope of survival in the face of Kagome's wrath was lost he quickly looked about for a quick escape.

However Kagome had known what he was attempting to do and latched onto his shirt before he could run off. Souta seriously considered the possibility of running through Tokyo shirtless if it meant he would live to see another day but dismissed it since Kagome was steadily pushing him to the wall of a nearby building so he could fully appreciate her anger.

"Might I remind you that you were the one to push me into the road, you little brat?" Kagome growled out, it didn't help matters that her school uniform offered no protection from the harsh ground and her legs were bleeding in several areas from meeting the asphalt. Souta wisely kept silent even though he thought about mentioning how he was now slightly taller than her.

However that would only further her anger and he had no wish to have bodily harm invoked upon him. He did have a date tonight after all and explaining to your girlfriend that you were beaten up by your sister would crush any male's ego. "You could have killed the both of us and you blame me for this? By God Souta, you're beginning to act like Him and that's not something that I would be proud of if I were you!"

Souta opened his mouth to protest, he had looked up to Inuyasha from the very first time he had met him. And if the way Inuyasha acted was such a bad thing then why did his sister follow him around like a lovesick puppy? It was plain to anyone who knew Kagome that she was hopelessly stuck on him.

But as luck would have it, Fate happened to be against Souta that particular day; Kagome cut him off before the first words of defense for the hanyou passed his lips. "Perhaps if you want to act like him I should help you along with it. I'm sure I can find a rosary with your name on it Souta, would you like to give it a try?" Kagome had a gleam in her eyes that worried him.

Souta shut his mouth quickly and shook his head. He had no doubts in his mind that she would do exactly as she threatened. As amusing as it was to see Inuyasha hit the floor on occasion he had no desire to be on the receiving end of the same treatment. "I thought not." Kagome stepped back after releasing his shirt, the few people who had gathered around to watch quickly dispersed seeing that there was not about to be a beating.

Souta breathed a sigh of relief knowing he would live another day and fell in step beside his sister. He hadn't meant to piss her off, it just seemed to happen more and more often and so far she was not opening up when he questioned her. Kagome remained silent; feelings of guilt began to set it.

She really hadn't spent any time with Souta recently and lately anytime they were around each other she lost her temper. At first she blamed in on how rotten she felt, after all few people are happy and cheerful when they are sick but eventually she realized it had been nothing but an excuse.

As they walked toward the shrine, Souta took a deep breath to prepare himself for what would surely end up another shouting argument. As always, it was the same question he would ask and would probably evoke the same response. She would rant and rave about how it wasn't his concern--not that anything seemed to be his concern anymore--and that he could just can it and leave her alone.

Then, doubtless, she would run off! The nerve! He looked at her sidelong and saw she seemed to be preoccupied in her own ponderings. But it was an important question he was going to ask. "Are you positive you and Inuyasha are the only ones who can get through the well?" He had a reason for asking this. A very important reason to know the answer.

He already knew the answer. Did she though? Did she know the real answer to that question or not? Or was she ignorant to the truth? He guessed he probably should apologize or something about barreling into her, but as usual the apology wasn't coming easy. She really didn't have to go mid-evil on his hinny, did she? Or ballistic... or both...

When she sent him a deadly glare that stated he really shouldn't have asked and told him that she was about to run, he grabbed her arm and said, "I have to know, Kagome. It's important."

Once more she jerked her arm out of his grasp; she was tired of him asking her that question. What was so damned important about it anyway? It wasn't as if anyone would try to go down in there after all. No sane person would say 'Hey I want to climb down a dry well for the hell of it!'

Her voice was cold, like it was a wind coming down from an arctic glacier. "You know that no one else can get through Souta. Shippou and I were trapped together in the bottom of it once and you've never seen a kitsune kit running around our house. Now tell me why it's so important that I just had to answer."

Souta looked down to the ground for a long moment. Kagome was not likely to take his news well at all. He could only hope that she didn't decide to give him that necklace for this, she never did like being told that she was wrong about something. "Well... It's like this..." Curiosity lit in Kagome's eyes for a moment. Her brother sounded positively guilty about something and she couldn't help but wonder what it was.

"Well while you were sick Bouyou disappeared for most of the day. And when I found him he was in the well house again. But this time he was at the bottom of the well and he couldn't get back out." Kagome nodded for him to go on, wondering where he was going with this.

"Did I say he couldn't get back out?" Souta inquired, procrastinating the inevitable momentarily. Then, he looked around, noticing they were just waiting at the side of some odd antiques building. An old man was sweeping the walk with a broom, glaring at the two of them at intervals, clearly suspecting them to be some sort of troublemaking pair.

"Let's take this elsewhere..." Souta told her, a frown firm on his face as he grabbed his sister's arm none-to-gently, dragging her down the street by the wrist. She was surprised at the sudden change in character to him and realized that this was what all those recent years of training had taught him. **Emotions were the enemy.**

But then again, she knew otherwise. While his teachers might have taught him that emotions were the enemy, she had actual life experience that proved that emotions could be the best friend of someone in a dire situation. One couldn't help but be awed by the drastic change to the younger brother.

"Souta, what--" She started only to be cut off by the very person she was trying to be objective to, "Quiet." He told her. "Walls often have ears, and I won't have people thinking we're _both_ cracked in the head."

"Are you suggesting something?" she asked with an almost Inuyasha-like growl.

He grinned at her, not really answering verbally, but all she needed to know was in his eyes. He was teasing her, despite the fact that some dangerous secret seemed to be held right between them.

When he came to the Shrine, his long legs carried him up three steps at a time, but she had to practically race a marathon to keep up with him. "Souta, would you just let me go?" she asked, realizing for the first time how strong he had become in those classes. It made her feel ill to know that her younger brother, the one who she thought she would always be protecting, was stronger than her. She could not break her wrist free.

"We'll talk in the well-house." He told her, releasing her once they had reached the top of the stairs. "Go get your things and I'll see you off."

**-------**

His wait was nearly over; he felt the purity of her energy approaching long before he ever caught her scent. But there was something off about her aura which made him slightly uneasy. Fear and unease was laced through it but she wasn't panicking so he refrained from revealing himself.

She wouldn't recognize him anyway at this point and there was no sense in startling her any further. He also recognized the aura of the second person, it would seem that her brother was the one to walk her home today which in his mind was all to the good. But it didn't explain her level of unease. Perhaps something had happened on the walk home?

He cursed under his breath as soon as he picked up the scent of her blood. Something had happened on her way home and she had been injured. He growled softly as he gazed through a small opening in the doorway. The boy Souta still had a hold of her wrist and whether he realized it or not he was gripping too tightly.

His superior eyesight picked up the discoloration of her skin where a bruise was beginning to form even from this distance. There were also several areas on her legs that looked as if she had been dragged along the ground, tracks of dried blood clearly visible.

It was completely unacceptable but he was not going to assume that her brother had been the one to cause her injuries. Whether Kagome realized it or not Souta had placed her on a pedestal and would never harm her on purpose.

He resigned himself to waiting as he watched her disappear into the house to gather her things and get herself cleaned up. He had no doubts that if she was to go back in her current condition the hanyou would be screaming for someone's blood until Kagome managed to calm him down enough to explain what happened. That was assuming that there was a reasonable explanation to begin with.

**-------**

"Meet me in there." Souta said, tipping his head toward the well house before releasing her wrist. He winced when he saw the bruise he had left on her. He had to be careful. He hardly knew his own strength anymore. With a heavy sigh, he watched as she turned and went toward the house to clean up and get her things before he turned toward the well house and headed for it.

The man, or demon as he may be considered, was surprised that the boy would come toward the well and so was careful to remain out of sight. He had to bite back a growl because he didn't want any witnesses to what he would do, and he didn't want to have to do anything brash to the kid. Like it or not, though, it would be done before she returned to the era long gone.

Souta ran impatient hands through his hair before carefully opening the door and entering in. Thoughts arose in the back of his mind as to why it should have happened to him, but he was allowed no reprieve from these dangerous ponderings. It made him only more frustrated as he sat heavily on the lip of the well and waited for his sister to appear.

He stared at his hands. He stared at the walls to the building. He stared at the dirt floor and the stairs and the door, but still the answers were not forthcoming.

And, as humans were won't to do, he didn't look up. Later on in life, he might look back and think of himself as stupid for not doing so, but it just didn't seem urgent at the time to do so.

**-------**

Inside Kagome's mind was circling over Souta's cryptic answer. The boy made absolutely no sense whatsoever but that wasn't all that surprising. She had given up long ago attempting to understand him. It wasn't worth the headache. Sighing heavily she trudged up the stairs wincing at the slight ache she was experiencing from her multiple cuts.

No doubt Inuyasha would be demanding to know what had happened to her and if she told him that Souta managed to surprise her enough that she couldn't stop from falling no doubt he would laugh at her. Humiliation from him on top of everything else today was something she didn't think she could take.

She dumped her book bag in the corner, not really caring how it fell and walked into the bathroom. She seriously considered taking a warm, relaxing bath and leaving Souta to wait in the well house. It would serve him right after all. It was his fault she was a bloody mess to begin with. But no, she would not be that rude to him.

Besides, she was anxious to get back to her friends on the other side of the well. Two weeks had already gone by and she had missed them. Quickly she turned on the shower and adjusted the temperature.

She stripped out of her clothing, dumping the soiled garments in the hamper and climbed into the shower. It didn't take her very long to get cleaned up; she debated on whether or not to tend to her cuts but decided against it. She could take care of them once she was on the other side of the well.

Quickly dressing in another uniform she grabbed her old, worn backpack. She wouldn't forget her books this time; it was going to kill her to make up all that back work anyway. She didn't need to add more to it. Once her books were stuffed into it she hoisted it over her shoulder and went downstairs. She didn't have to worry about packing the rest of the stuff, her mother had seen to that for her while she was in school apparently.

Her mother heard her coming down the stairs and was already by the door waiting on her. She always worried each time she sent her daughter off. But there wasn't anything that she could do to prevent Kagome from going. This was something they all knew that she had to do. She could only pray that she would never get a visit from Inuyasha saying her only daughter was dead.

She held out her arms and Kagome dropped her bag to walk into them. She was thankful that her mother was so understanding of the situation; she didn't know how long she would have been able to put up with the stress she lived through if it wasn't for her mother.

"Be careful dear and take care of yourself this time. You wouldn't want to get sick again."

Kagome nodded and hugged her mother tighter. She didn't want to worry her anymore than she would normally. What she wouldn't give to make this all go away. "I will Momma; I'll be back in a couple of weeks."

Goodbyes having been said Kagome picked up her backpack and walked out the door. She didn't like drawing out goodbyes any longer than necessary, it only made leaving that much more difficult.

It was time to find out what secret Souta was hiding, she opened up the door to the well house and stepped into the darkness. She could make out Souta's vague form sitting on the edge of the well. "Time for you to tell me what is going on Souta and don't think you can put it off any longer."

Souta looked up at her, his brown eyes shining with a hidden knowledge of what was to come, but he spoke not a word to her. His hand once more went through his hair as a sign of his nervousness, though he doubted she would know that.

She never hung around him anymore. After all, he was just a dumb little fifteen year old, and barely that. His birthday was two months before. "Kagome..." he breathed out, sighing heavily before reaching in his pocket to pull out something and toss it to her.

He watched her catch it and look at it before she gasped and turned angry eyes on him. "How did you get this?" She demanded hotly. Souta was sure that if she was a dog, her fur would be bristling. Her anger made the hair on the back of his neck rise. "Not only that, how did you manage to keep me from noticing it?"

Souta winced, all ounce of hope gone from his body. She would probably beat him up and his date that evening would be trashed because of it. He _really_ didn't want his girlfriend to know he was beat up by his sister, not because he couldn't defend himself, but because he had allowed it to happen. "I know it looks bad, Kagome, but that's why I asked you if others could get through the well."

"But a Jewel shard?" she insisted. "How did you get this Souta?" Suddenly going back didn't seem all that wonderful. Inuyasha would question her on the new shard--he always kept a firm count on how many shards Kagome held--and would want to know exactly how she, a mediocre priestess, had managed to wrest a Jewel shard free from a demon.

"The jar I received from Grandmother Genkai. The shard was embedded in the wood of a shelf at school. Do you remember the shelf that was supposedly haunted? Because anytime someone would walk under it, all the books would mysteriously land on their head?"

Kagome nodded, frowning. Souta had managed to secure a shard? Was _everyone_ able to do that except her? "Yeah, go on..." She shifted on her feet, alternating between wanting to take the backpack off and sit on the stairs and not.

The demon in the rafters listened curiously to the story. He had known of all that Souta trained lately, and had seen the boy practicing, but he didn't realize he could secure something such as a shard while it was haunting something.

"I happened to walk under it once. Never believed the tales before that of it being haunted; that is until all the books landed on my head. I looked up, and there on the underside of the shelf in plain visibility was a dirty, grimy shard--the very shard you now hold." Souta turned his face away from his sister's. He didn't want to know how she felt about not being able to secure a shard on her own, even if it was in plain sight.

"Stop stalling." She snapped at him. "Just finish the story."

"Well, I got the shard and went to see Grandma about something to hold it so it wouldn't be sensed or anything. She gave me that jar. Then Bouyou fell down the well, idiot cat, and I went down to get him and the damn well took me for a little ride."

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**T.K.: That's just crazy. But sexy crazy. Haha! I don't know if Ryutsu want's to say anything... So I'll just have my trademark saying right there. Yay!**


	2. Through The Well

**Title: Painful Decisions  
**Author: Ryutsu and T.K. Incognito  
_Disclaimer: There was a day way back when... when everyone knew that fan fiction was exactly that: a fan fiction. A product of a fan's imagination, one that did not necessarily follow the real story's plot, but was just made up for fun. It was during this period in history that no one had to worry about being accused of stealing the rights to things they did not own—or want to for that matter. Alas, that was a long time ago, and now comes the disclaimer that is a must: we do not own, and are not attempting to either._

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Chapter two: Through The Well

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. First her brother manages to get a jewel shard that no one knew about and then he passed through the well? Speaking of that damned jewel shard how was it possible that it was here, in this time? Did it mean that they didn't succeed in defeating Naraku? Or just that they didn't manage to complete the jewel?

She paused, recalling the jewel shard that the Noh Mask had. Why didn't this click before? They must not have finished the jewel completely, or maybe they did but there was a certain order of events that everything had to happen in or else things would get askew. After all, they were dealing with time. Maybe Souta was a part of that order of events... She hoped not. He shouldn't have to get involved in such dangerous things, even if he could take care of himself quite clearly.

Not to mention that saving the world was supposed to be her job in the family! Jeez. Couldn't everyone just stick with the jobs they were assigned? But wait, Souta just turned fifteen, didn't he? Yeah, she was pretty sure he did, so maybe that was significant somehow... Maybe it was something that ran in their blood that allowed him to get through the well now that he was older?

Her head was beginning to ache and it wasn't from her up close and personal meeting with the concrete earlier. None of this made any damned sense to her. Her ability to sense the jewel shards had improved greatly over the years but she had never once had the slightest whisper across her senses to indicate there was a jewel shard unclaimed in this time and she had passed right underneath that damned shelf!

But no, her brother had to be the one to find it. And it wasn't just the fact that he had found it, but as she looked at the blasted thing there hadn't been the slightest hint of a taint. Apparently Souta had more holy powers in him then anyone had ever thought to look for. Once more she felt as if she had been passed by to sit in someone else's shadow.

She bit back the feeling of despair that was trying to overwhelm her. She should be used to this situation by now. After all, everyone else in the group was better than her at almost everything. Even little Shippou had mastered spells that were supposed to come easy to her. The only thing she had ever excelled at was sensing the jewel shards and now... And now it seemed as if she was unable to do even that much.

She didn't even want to contemplate what this could mean for the future. If Souta could pass through holding the jewel shards then the likelihood that Naraku could do the same was a distinct possibility. What if Naraku or one of his spies had been watching the well the day that Souta went through? Naraku was smart; he would easily put together the clues laid before him. If he did that then all hell would break loose in the modern era.

The entire city would be defenseless and his for the taking. The only thing that held him back in the slightest in the Feudal Era was that Lord Sesshoumaru and the other three Taiyoukai's protected their lands and everything contained therein including the human villages to a certain extent. In this era there had been no signs of demons that she had experienced.

There would be no safeguards in place should he come through, there had to be something she could do. She thought of sealing the well once she was through but there was a problem with that idea. She hadn't yet mastered that particular spell and even if she did from what she had learned from Kaede there was every possibility that it would stay sealed; permanently.

She could be trapped in the Feudal Era with no way home. Could she give up her family? She didn't know what to do anymore, she needed to talk to Inuyasha and tell him about this latest development.

Souta and their silent watcher kept their gazes trained on the young Priestess, waiting to see what she had to say about this little revelation. Her emotions showed clearly on her face: despair, anger, resignation, and confusion. It was all there for them to see but neither was sure if she would voice her thoughts.

Souta was half dreading hearing what she had to say. Would she hate him for concealing the jewel? Or for the fact that he could go through the well? He wasn't sure and it worried him, he was well aware of Kagome's views of herself even though she tried desperately to hide them. After living with someone for so many years you learned of the others every idiosyncrasy.

She finally broke the silence, asking the one question she needed the answer the most to. "Did anyone see you on the other side Souta? This is important." His answer could very easily make her decision for her as to asking Kaede about sealing spells. She waited, not realizing that she was holding her breath. An uncertain look passed over his face and her heart sank.

Somehow Souta had known she would ask him that. He didn't know the answer to her question, at least not with any certainty anyway. Curiosity had gotten the better of him when he had realized what had happened. He left Bouyou in the bottom of the well knowing that if he carried him out then the fat cat would want to go exploring.

Not that he could blame him for that; it was exactly what he had wanted to do. And since there was no one to stop him that is exactly what he had done, although he did have enough common sense to stay near the well in case a demon attacked him. He could easily jump into the well and escape any danger. "I don't think so Kagome."

He didn't think so? How could he not know, he would have seen someone looking into the well wouldn't he have? Unless... She got that sinking feeling once more. "Souta you didn't climb out of the well did you?" He didn't even have to answer; the look on his face told her everything. She felt a surge of anger at him.

Why couldn't he have just traveled back through the well? Didn't he realize what danger he was in carrying a jewel shard? "Damn it Souta; do you realize what could have happened to you? Don't you know that our entire family could be in danger now? If Naraku knows he can travel through the well he won't hesitate to kill you and there won't be anything anyone can do to stop him!"

"Well, maybe it has nothing to do with the well!" Souta suddenly said, raising his voice to her firmly. It was very rare for Souta to raise his voice lately, even while they were arguing, and Kagome suddenly felt bad for making him raise it to her. "Did you ever stop to think that it might just have to do with us and not the well? No, you automatically think that hell will be bestowed upon the world just because I fell through the well."

"Souta, I..." Kagome tried to intervene, but Souta stopped her. She had her moment of anger and now he would be heard. He was tired of being ignored by everyone. He had an opinion. He had feelings. He had things that he felt were important to input to the conversation. He would be heard.

"No, Kagome. You think that just because I went and looked around a bit that I could have been killed, don't you? Well, here's a little information, Kagome. The reason, the real reason, why I took all those classes and learned all those lessons was so that if in the event that something came through the well, or—god forbid—something happened to you, I would be ready to protect our family." Souta was ready to pull his hair out in frustration. There was so much he wanted to say, but he couldn't say it all at once.

Silence stretched between the two. Both were in their own thoughts for an unexplained period of time that felt like years to both. Finally Souta said, "I can't sense the jewel shards. I only noticed it because the books fell on my head."

Kagome nodded her acceptance to this. Maybe there would be something she would still be useful for. Something she could add to the group still. After all, if Souta could take care of himself, and go through the well, and sense the jewel shards, then wouldn't the smart thing be to let Souta go complete the jewel? She took a deep breath and said, "Maybe Kaede might have answers for us..."

She didn't really want Souta to go back through the well, but it seemed like it could be necessary. Maybe if there really was an order of events that things had to happen in, his going back through the well was part of it. But then again, now that these thoughts were with her about an order of events, her thoughts were contorting on themselves with "what ifs".

What if Souta wasn't supposed to go through the well a second time? What would happen if she screwed up the way time flowed? Just thinking about it made her sick to her stomach and she wondered if maybe she wasn't fully rested enough. More what if's barraged her and she wondered if she should stay in the modern era another day just to rest.

What if she made the wrong decision? What if she cried at the wrong time? What if she didn't meet someone she was supposed to? What if she died? What if she failed to fix the jewel? What if Naraku prevailed instead of her group? What if her family got hurt? What if Souta was supposed to help aid them in the hunt?

She had to stop doing this. Souta was looking at her strangely and honestly she didn't blame him. What if's would never get them anywhere other than cramps from sitting in awkward positions on the floor. She didn't know what to say to him anymore.

It seemed as if they were separated by a large chasm and there was no hope of spanning it. Well, there was no time like the present to take him to the past. They really did need to talk to Kaede about this entire mess and see if she had any words of wisdom to impart.

"Let's go Souta," Kagome picked up the backpack once more and rested it on the edge of the well. When she didn't get a response she looked over to her brother who was staring at her with his mouth open. She repressed a laugh that wanted to break loose despite the severity of the situation.

"Earth to Souta, I said let's go." He still didn't look as if he comprehended what she was getting at and finally tired of his hesitation she took his hand in her own. When he looked at her with a startled expression she just shook her head in exasperation and began to step up onto the edge.

Slowly he followed her, still surprised by what she was doing. After all the ranting and raving she had done she wanted him to go with her? He wondered about all of her questions she threw at him earlier. Didn't they matter at all? Apparently not based on the way he was being hauled up next to her.

He started to ask her if she really thought this was a good idea but she didn't give him a chance. It really wasn't surprising considering how she often did things without thinking. Hell, she wasn't even allowing him to get some stuff together and let their mother know where he would be.

Kagome jumped over the edge pulling him down with her and he felt the now familiar sensation of passing through time. Truth be told, it made his skin crawl, he wasn't looking forward to experiencing it again but he knew that he had no choice.

Another horrifying thought struck him as they landed on the other side. His girlfriend was going to kill him for certain. They had been planning this date for weeks and now it looked like he was going to stand her up. He was dead for certain, forget worrying about Naraku.

**-Feudal Era- **

He glared at his partner for a long moment before finally he could no longer take it. All the fox wanted to do was sit on his rear end all day and enjoy the presence of women. True, the fox might not have been a complete deadweight, he served his purposes and could whisk information from flap-jawed females easier than Hiei could, but watching the sight got to be rather disgusting.

So he did the next best thing he could think of. He picked himself from the ground and walked out of the cave they called a hideout, walking toward the forest. His thoughts were scattered enough, but to top that off, his elements were again surging through him like a wildfire. He wasn't sure what to do to appease their battle. It wasn't easy to be born with opposing elements, and often he found himself cursing his parents for cursing him, which did make sense in a round-about way.

The silence under the trees was limited, but it was better than listening to the giggles that came from the fox's latest "information source". Instead, he was able to hear the chirping of birds as they went about their afternoon.

He could hear the rustle of small animals in the undergrowth, and yes, even his feet made a crinkling sound as they crunched the autumn leaves. He walked continuously until he came upon the village that he knew better than to enter. Once he had arrived, he jumped into the tree at the edge of the forest to watch the people go about their day.

As usual, the half breed was there and the young fox cub was as well. They were always there when their priestess disappeared temporarily, but Hiei had never found out where she went to. She was a mystery. Hiei heard footsteps and voices behind him. He looked to where they were coming from and saw the priestess from his thoughts was there with another who looked similar to her. Hiei thought they could be siblings.

Again, Hiei was struck with the curious notion that the priestess was very different from anyone he had ever seen, human or demon. She usually kept her hair unbound, though when she bathed she did have it up. Sometimes being so sneaky was a good thing... She wore indecent clothes, but he had to admit it was smarter to wear the revealing things she wore rather than the restricting kimonos that most ladies wore. It would be hard to run in such clothes.

Hiei slipped from one tree branch to another so he could get close enough to hear what they were saying. He was sure to stay out of sight. As of yet, no one knew of his strange fascination of the three humans who traveled, looking for jewel shards. If Kurama were to know, he would probably have wooed and screwed each of them, maybe even the male. Kind of gross, but Youko Kurama was like that. He seemed to take everything both beautiful and everything that Hiei enjoyed.

That was why Hiei had decided he would never let Kurama find out about his fascination. Hiei had his reasons for putting up with Kurama. Kurama was there to help Hiei find his sister, though they had come to the "agreement" that Kurama would never try anything with Yukina. Well, the agreement was more that if he did, Hiei would kill him, even if it meant that he died himself...

Hiei's curiosity over the three humans was because of how different they were from the rest of the population. The monk was facing death every day, yet he continued his life happily as htough that impending death threat was not there. The demon slayer had lost everything she held dear, yet vengeance kept her going.

The priestess... He had no clue about, and he had been watching her for three months already. He thought about approaching her, but decided against it one more time. He had no reason to do so. He did not desire the jewel, so where was his motive?

He certainly couldn't say he wanted to be friends, and he had nothing against the demon Naraku. He couldn't get too close to people anyway because his elements would doubtless rage and he would probably kill himself. That would kind of suck.

Hiei watched the two for a few seconds, anxiously settling into the tree. The woman was intriguing him enough that he would wait for her to come into view before following just behind the two. He listened to their conversation for a moment and as they came to be just underneath him, the male tensed. "Kagome," The male whispered. Hiei wondered who he was. He had never seen him before.

In observation of the male human, he saw he wore equally as strange clothes as the priestess. His clothes were not like the male humans normally wore. The bottom to his clothes were ripped a bit as were the top near the shoulders. He had a scrape by his left eye, as though he had hit it on gravel or something.

His build was toned for fighting, not farming. Hiei wondered if he was a fighter, or a slayer of some sort like the female demon slayer. Again he wondered where the priestess disappeared to for two weeks. Hiei couldn't help but notice her disappearance, since she was his favorite to watch.

She said odd things that made no sense and recently he had caught himself trying out those strange foreign words himself, though of course out of hearing range from Youko Kurama. "Yeah, Souta?" Kagome asked, not perturbed by anything like the male. She continued walking while the male had stopped.

"Stop moving." he ordered, and she stopped to look at him in confusion. "Don't you feel that?" Hiei wondered what the human was talking about. He perked his senses to the surroundings and all he noticed was the silence of the birds. Wait, silence of the birds? They normally chirped unless... unless there was something bad coming.

Kagome was silent for a long moment before she realized the birds' lack of chirping. "You're right. Let's get to the village before--"

"It's coming fast!" Souta grasped his sister and dove to the side. Hiei could have stopped it. He could have unsheathed his sword before the large three-eyed rat, about the size of a Great Dane, had come upon them, but he decided to wait it out. If his little priestess got into too much trouble, he would help them, but until her life depended on it, he would wait it out. Besides, it appeared the male had a handle on the situation anyway.

Souta bit his lip as the rat stared at him and then said, "Kagome, look around for a long straight stick. Damn, I knew I shouldn't have let you drag me through the well without grabbing the old katana grandpa kept on the living room wall. What do you think our chances of survival are?"

Kagome looked around and frowned. "How is it that every time you need something, it's not there?"

"You mean; no sticks?" Souta paled. That sucked ass really bad. As the rat tore toward them, he grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the way. The rat hit the tree and it wobbled.

Up in that very tree, Hiei nearly lost his balance as the tree wobbled dangerously. The branch he was on began to break, but before he could get to another branch, he tumbled right into the middle of the lovely fight scene. The branch landed on the giant rat, and dignity be damned, so did Hiei.

He sat up, groaning and rubbing his back. From now on, he would stick to the ground. Or at least branches that wouldn't break under his weight when the tree was assaulted. "Great," Kagome muttered from behind Souta, rubbing her arm. She swore Souta had to watch his strength. Her arm felt dislocated, it hurt so much. "One problem is knocked out by another."

Hiei was faced with a dilemma that he never once thought he would encounter before. On one hand he could get up and dart away before anyone said anything but then undoubtedly the Priestess would be wondering exactly why he had been in that tree. Most likely she'd be on her guard after this mess and it would be more difficult for him to observe which meant that he would have to find his entertainment elsewhere.

The thought was not appealing, they'd been staying in that damned cave for weeks now. He wasn't entirely certain why they hadn't continued on with the search as of yet, though truthfully he hadn't pushed the issue since he had occupied his time watching this odd group.

His other option was to attempt to engage them in a conversation and make it seem like he had just been passing through the area and was going to assist them when the branch gave way. Neither possibility exactly thrilled him but he needed to make a decision soon before the rat regained consciousness. He didn't exactly relish the idea of being bit on the ass by a rodent.

Keeping an eye on the two humans in front of him he stood up quickly just as the rat began to stir. Quickly unsheathing his katana he plunged it into the eye directly in the center of its forehead, driving the blade clean through it's skull. Pulling it free he quickly flicked the filth off of it and examined the blade critically. It would need a good cleaning before he re-sheathed it. Stalking over to a nearby log he sat down on it and began to wipe the blade down.

Kagome and Souta watched him carefully, waiting for any move that would signify an attack but none was forthcoming. Both had numerous questions they wanted to ask but neither was extremely anxious to approach the small youkai. After all, his expression looked less than pleased which was understandable considering he had just taken a nose dive out of a fifty foot tree.

It didn't take long for him to finish cleaning his katana, as he sheathed it he looked at the other two carefully. They seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief once the weapon was away. He inwardly scoffed at this reaction. He was a youkai, he could have killed them no less than fifty times in the first two minutes that he had spent in their company.

Instead he'd for the most part ignored them and they were acting like he had held the blade to their throats for the joy of seeing them squirm. Perhaps he had given the Priestess to much credit. She was reverting back to the sheep like behavior that he despised about humans.

He stood up so he could leave, but when he did so immediately the girl jumped back landing roughly on her rear though to be honest it was more because the boy had shoved her backwards and placed himself in between him and the girl. The girl however looked offended as she picked herself up off of the ground. "Souta, dammit! How many times are you going to shove me to the ground today?"

Hiei looked at the boy with a slightly amused expression. It would seem the girl was important to this boy, though he had a strange way of showing it if he was always this rough with her. However it really wasn't his concern as to how the girl was or was not treated. She was a curiousity, nothing more. Only good for providing him some amusement until he tired of watching her.

It wasn't his fault that she seemed to be full of mystery though! Had she been any other human and he would never have looked twice at her, but instead there were things he could not explain away and he was determined to pry each of her secrets from her one way or another. Now that his cover was blown he'd just have to rethink his methods.

"Kagome I was just trying to protect you!" To this Kagome looked ready to explode, Hiei wasn't exactly sure who the boy should fear more at this point in time. The girl was clenching and unclenching her hands as if she itched to pummel him into the ground.

* * *

**That's just crazy. But sexy crazy. Haha! Just so people know, this is also being posted on MediaMiner in case people prefer that format. Ryutsu is in charge of posting there, and I seem to be in charge of posting here. **


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